Human embryonic stem (hES) cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from adult differentiated cells are uniquely suited for cell therapy applications because they are pluripotent and self-renewable. Owing to the large variety of cell types that can arise in differentiating pluripotent stem cell cultures, success in achieving efficient, directed differentiation is useful for therapeutic application of human pluripotent stem cells. Efficient directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells to various intermediate cell types including pancreatic lineage cells using various growth and signaling factors and small molecules is necessary.